Giovanni Mocenigo

Giovanni Mocenigo (1409-14 September 1485) was the 72nd Doge of Venice from 1478 to 1485.

Biography
Giovanni Mocenigo was the brother of Pietro Mocenigo, who was the doge before him. On the death of his brother he became the new Doge, and he fought at sea against Mehmed II of Turkey and on land against Ercole I of Ferrara. He retook Rovigo and the Polesine from the Ferraran forces, and was revered as a powerful ruler.

In 1481, during the Venetian Conspiracy, the Knights Templar Grand Master Rodrigo Borgia attempted to gain influence over Venice through the House of Barbarigo, using Marco Barbarigo as his main man in the operation. Politician Carlo Grimaldi was sent to convince the Doge to accept Templar dominance, but he did not listen to Grimaldi's advice. In 1485, running out of time, Borgia demanded that he be killed.

Death
On 14 September 1485, just three days after Ezio Auditore da Firenze's assassination of Emilio Barbarigo, Carlo Grimaldi poisoned the Doge's meal before they played chess. By the time Auditore reached the Palazzo Ducale, Mocenigo had already consumed the untraceable arsenic. The Doge died, choking to death on poison, and Auditore avenged him by slaying the traitor Grimaldi.